The Girlfriend Trap
by EucalyptusKisses
Summary: When Natasha gets an assignment to kill Clint Barton, she thinks it's an impossible task. But when her sister, Alina, offers her a way to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D., well . . . Nat would be idiotic not to accept it. Problem is, she now has to convince all the Avengers that she is Alina. And the biggest challenge comes in the form of Alina's fiance: Clint Barton. Clintasha


_Natasha had been fired from her job. At least, that was the official story. The truth was that she'd quit working for one person when she realized she'd make a lot more money as a full-time freelance assassin, part-time torturer. There were plenty of organizations, even governments, that were willing to pay her expensive price tag in exchange for her impeccable and unmatched skills._

_In any event, she had amassed quite the fortune over the past couple years. Although Natasha had rued being extremely frugal, it was paying off. She wasn't as rich as Bill Gates, but she did rival the man in terms of money. Natasha had taken herself off the grid for a long, much needed vacation. She still debating on whether or not to go to Madrid, Spain or the Greek island Mykonos. Both were gorgeously tempting._

_After her three week vacation, Natasha had a job booked with one Mr. Jang, a powerful and dangerous drug lord. He ran a couple large - and ridiculously illegal - drug circles. He was currently transporting a new powerful and synthetic drug. The only problem was, S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to be hot on his trail soon; they were investigating the death of some fragile agent called Jemma Simmons._

_S.H.I.E.L.D. put together some superteam called the Avengers, and the one called Clint Barton was currently making great headway on the case. He was quickly uncovering Jang's various men and stations, easily taking them out with the rest of the team. All she knew about him otherwise was that he was a man who could fight but kept to himself and had hearing issues._

_Jang said he could off the attention long enough for Natasha's vacation, but she was done recuperating, well . . . it was play time. A social date with Clint that would end with his body gone, in some unreachable part of the world. She yawned just thinking about it. This would be so easy, so boring. She had taken out people more important than him. It was barely worth her time._

_Natasha wouldn't have bothered to take Jang's request, but his offer not met her price; the offer exceeded it. So why not? She wasn't going to be low on cash anytime soon, nor did she did have a love of money. Natasha enjoyed earning it, and right now, she needed to successfully to carry out her assignment. Her professional relationship with Jang was tremulous. Success would strengthen and solidify it, just as failure would break it._

_Success was crucial._

_The cartel he ran was something Natasha never wanted to know very much about; she operated on a strict need-to-know basis. Her cousin, Lucy, had gotten mixed up in it (in other words, Lucy'd been forced into the business). Some claimed she hadn't been. Of course, the people claimed that Natasha was not a threat. Suffice it to say they were now permanently unreachable once she'd discovered the truth._

_Jang also had many connections that Nat coveted, that she planned on making hers someday. She would do what was required to obtain those._

_Natasha was currently beginning to pack her large black suitcase. She had thrown in flip-flops, sundresses, and bikinis, high-waisted shorts and short-shorts, tank tops and shirts, lingerie and hygiene products . . . She felt like looking cute for the entire trip. She was bobbing her head along to a Miles Davis song that was playing from her bluetooth (hooked up to her iPod) when the knock on the door came._

_Her spine straightened, body still and tense as a tree. She was frozen, like a tree, and suddenly the music seemed too loud. Natasha had not been expecting anybody. Hadn't even told anyone this was where she was living and routinely made a thorough point to make sure five mile radius around her apartment wasn't bugged. That begged the question: had trouble still managed to intentionally find her?_

_And if so, what was she going to do about it?_

_What Natasha did was pull out a bag that was pre-packed with clothes, an I.D., three stuffed wallets, and a passport. Then she armed herself and carefully walked to the door with a nimble grace. She looked through her peephole, and found the shock to be unnecessary - well, mostly unnecessary. Natasha was looking at her own face. Or more accurately: the face of her twin sister: Alina Romanov (who was also Natasha's best kept secret)._

_Natasha unlocked all the locks she had except for the chained one. She opened the door as far as the chain would permit, and peered at her sister. They had not seen each other in months. "Alina, what are you doing here?" she demanded, not bothering to lower or hide her weapon, a black Smith & Wesson handgun. Her sister wasn't exactly a threat - at least, not to people she considered good. Natasha wasn't a good person - far from it. She enjoyed killing and the suffering of others; it was beautiful, in its own way._

_"I need to talk to you," Alina replied, looking at Natasha with pleading eyes. She tucked some hair behind one of her ears._

_Natasha narrowed her eyes. For all her supposed innocence, Natasha could tell her sister had three weapons on her person and the one hand that was hovering around her back pocket was clearly just a precaution in case Alina felt threatened._

_How quaint. Natasha was flattered._

_She frowned the tiniest bit, waving. On the one hand, Alina coming in meant she'd find more just enough evidence to arrest the older Romanov. On the other hand, Alina had known for years about what Natasha did for a living and she had said nothing, did nothing._

_And as their family had once said: blood before everything._

_Natasha bit her lip, than groaned internally. She had no choice; she had to help Alina. "Fine. Come in," she sighed, unlocking the last lock and opening the door. She stepped aside and lowered her weapon. Alina flounced in, though it seemed forced, and tossed bright, fiery red hair over her shoulder._

_Natasha closed the door then followed her sister. She and Alina rarely met these days. It was too complicated and they practically courted Trouble each time. Meeting put them both in a possibly compromising position._

_Alina worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.; she was one of the five Avengers, for fuck's sake. And Natasha was the world's top freelance assassin, known as the Black Widow. Alina took down people like her sister, just like Natasha enjoyed killing people like her sister. And neither thought twice about it. If it got out they were sisters who met for coffee and bagels, hell breaking loose would only be the beginning._

_They met a few times a year and now kept their relationship on a strictly need-to-know basis. At one time, it been distressing for Natasha, though she had been the one to firmly suggest it happen. Now, of course, she was fine with it. They had to live by that rule; that way, if one was ever interrogated, they could claim they knew nothing about the other. One sister would be telling the truth and wouldn't have to betray the other._

_"What a cute little apartment," Alina was saying, twirling around in the barely stocked kitchen. She had on a gorgeous little polka-dot summer dress with a cream belt (bow in the middle) and matching ballet slippers. Alina was the girly one of the twins._

_"Shut up," Natasha muttered, out of habit. "So what do you want?"_

_Alina wrinkled her nose. "Why do you think I want something? Maybe I just want to visit with you. It's been six months," she added faux-helpfully - of course Natasha knew it had been a long time since they'd seen each other._

_"No, you don't. You already know how I'm doing, Alina. We keep tabs on each other," Natasha reminded her. "Besides, we have the need-to-know rule." She folded herself comfortably onto a gray-black mid-century Lily couch she'd found at a yard sale. It suited her well._

_"Fine," Alina grumbled, and Natasha watched her rifle through the cupboards until she found a glass. Alina filled it with water. She walked into the living room and sat across from Natasha. "I need a break," she announced._

_Natasha huffed out a breath, irritated."I don't care. Take a vacation; this is not my problem."_

_"I mean like from my job," Alina clarified as she shook her head. "My anxiety's getting really bad and they think I'm slacking off." She clutched the cup tightly enough that her fingers seemed strained._

_"So talk it out with Fury. Tell him about your anxiety disorder," the elder Romanov suggested. "And stop bothering me with stuff like this; that's probably why everybody - " Natasha made air quotes around the word " - thinks you're slacking off."_

_Alina took a gulp and said, "You say that like it's easy." She sighed, leaned her head back._

_"Because it is. Now shoo. I have to pack." Natasha stood up and walked briskly to her bedroom. She felt the faintest twinge of guilt at not making an effort with Alina, whose anxiety was, in fact, a real and severe thing, not just some passing phase. Why she'd chosen to go into a profession with so many triggers, Natasha would never know, but Alina did have the tendency to think she was invincible. It was practically a Romanov genetic trait._

_Alina, of course, didn't go - she chose to follow her sister into her room. It was then, as Natasha hurriedly packed, that she revealed her own vacation plans. She had finally decided on the Greek island for three weeks and was scheduled to kill one Clint Barton when she was done vacationing. Granted, telling Alina about a field mission was never a good idea._

_It was while she was talking that she realized that Alina was coming up with a plan - she had the Look on her face, which Natasha can only describe as being both shifty and manically focused._

_"Listen, Nat," Alina began. "I have an idea._

Uh-oh . . ._ Natasha thought. "What is it?" she asked warily. Her sister wasn't known for any brilliantly thought out plans._

_"OK, look. I need a vacation, and you need a way to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. to kill my colleague. So let's switch places." Alina sounded pleased with herself and looked at Natasha expectantly._

_Natasha blinked, unsure if Alina was being serious. When she realized the younger wasn't Romanov wasn't joking, she cleared her throat. "Alina, that's the craziest, stupidest thing goddamn thing I've ever heard. No way am I doing that."_

_"C'mon," Alina whined the tiniest bit. "Think about it. Clint's called Hawkeye for a reason. It'll be hard to kill him on your own. He'll see an outside attack coming. But if you get inside S.H.I.E.L.D., he won't ever suspect an attack coming. You'll be right near him and can plan the most perfect kill. Just pretend for two weeks and then gank him." Alina flopped onto Natasha's bed. "Besides, Clint proposed to me and I regret saying yes. So you'll just kill two birds with one stone if you agree."_

_Natasha spluttered, shocked. "You're engaged?!" she all but squeaked. This was quite the revelation. Her sister was a flirt and loved one-night stands. She hated commitment. "Why him?"_

_"I thought he was rich," Alina replied, shrugging. "So will you please switch with me?"_

_"Allie, they'll know I'm not you. Maybe not at first, but they'll catch on eventually. Our personalities and mannerisms are different enough that it's hard to act like you for more than a couple hours." Natasha sighed and folded a few more clothes. "Besides, I have scars that you don't, and vice versa. Clint's gonna notice if his fiancé shows up to work the next day with faded scars he's never seen."_

_Alina shook her head. "Don't use my nickname to guilt-trip me," she warned. "Anyway, the only time we've ever had sex was when we got super drunk. I doubt he remembers what I look like. Look, just . . . please, Nat," Alina pleaded, her voice softer._

_"Hey; you're not allowed to use my nickname if I can't use yours," Natasha said firmly. "And no. I earned this break."_

_Alina huffed out and sat up. "How'd you earn it? By killing someone?" She pouted at her sister._

_"No, I found out what Jang did to Lucy," Natasha explained._

_"Didn't we have a cousin named Lucy?"_

_She nodded. "That's the one I was investigating. Turns out she got some kind of synthetic drug stitched into her abdomen. Package broke and her body couldn't handle it for too long."_

_"Aww. She carried on the family drug addiction," Alina cooed, sounding genuinely pleased._

_Natasha just rolled her eyes. "Unlike us. We got to become killers."_

_"Uh-uh. Just you." Alina wagged a finger at her. "I joined the side of the angels eventually."_

_"Don't give me that crap," Natasha said, wrinkling her nose. "We killed a ton of people that one summer, remember? When we were fifteen."_

_"Oh yeah," Alina recalled with a faraway look in her eyes. "Remember the first one we got? He sure was something."_

_"You just liked his eyes," countered Natasha._

_Alina shrugged half-heartedly. "They were pretty. And it was nice he stopped screaming the third day or something when I was cutting him with my knife."_

_Natasha half-laughed. "That's because you kept manipulating him. I think the son of a bitch was starting to develop Stockholm Syndrome by the time I killed him." She put the last of her clothes into the suitcase, then carefully zipped it shut._

_"Where'd we put his body?" Alina rolled over to look at Natasha, was dragging her suitcase out into the hallway._

_"I think the creek down in the woods by our house." Natasha was struggling to recall the exact location - the two of them had gone through so many people that summer. By the time summer was over, they'd killed somewhere around twenty people. Suffice it to say they had been extremely bored and unsupervised._

_She was also pretty sure the two of them were sociopaths, or psychopaths. What kind of person killed so much by the age of twenty-seven and felt no guilt? Natasha had always worried about it to some extent at the back of her mind. About that, and that one day, either her or Alina would snap and go too far. Would kill just to kill and not stop. Natasha knew it was probably going to be herself, but Alina was often full of surprises._

_"Look, Natasha, I just have to ask one more time . . ." Alina said when she re-entered. "Are you sure you won't switch me?"_

_"I told your dumb ass I'm not gonna switch with you," she snapped. "You gonna stay for dinner? I might make pasta if you do."_

_Alina didn't answer, just threw up her hands. "It's so. Damn. Hard being me! You don't get what it's like to have a job you love that has so many anxiety-related triggers! To show up for work and never know if you'll have a panic attack or not. To wonder why you're a freak and a coward who can't do anything. You don't get what it's like to know there's something wrong with you because you're surrounded by all these wonderful people. To know that you can't be like them because there is a broken link inside you."_

_"I feel the same way," Natasha said quietly, looking at her sister. "I wonder if we're sociopaths or psychopaths, or if we were just brought up to be immune to killing. It's not like we asked for the childhood we got. But Al, you have to stop thinking that way. You can't play those mind games with yourself. My life isn't easy either - far from it. I miss seeing you sometimes, and it's not fun to see others who have it better, but that's just how life is. The sooner you accept it the easier things will be."_

_Alina sniffled, her eyes welling up with tears. "I just . . . can't, Natasha. I think about work, which stresses me out, and I think about how I'm stressing out about work, and I think about how I'm thinking about that. And it's just this fucking cycling that I can't ever seem to stop once it gets started. Life paralyzes me and I just can't handle it."_

_Natasha rocked on her heels, letting doubt nag at her. It was entirely possible that this was just a set-up and an act on Alina's part. That if Natasha agreed, she'd be arrested in less than a few seconds and surrounded by forces if she tried to go anywhere._

_Except, if it was, why would Alina talk about the summer they killed people just to test their skills? She wouldn't implicate herself like that. She wouldn't talk about it so freely. Which was why that was the main thing that convinced Natasha that Alina was about to actually have a break down and really did need a break. The other reason was that Alina never used her anxiety as an excuse to get out of something._

_Natasha rocked back on her heels, then said softly, "You're going to need to take my emergency bag with you to Greece. If S.H.I.E.L.D. catches onto the fact I infiltrated them, they're eventually going to come after you. I can't make it sound like I forced you to tell me everything about S.H.I.E.L.D. if they find you suntanning and flirting."_

_Alina didn't say anything, just flung her arms around Natasha and sucked in several deep breathes._

_And that was how Natasha agreed to the most stupid, crazy thing she'd ever heard in her life._

**(A/N: I put in a reference to this book called "Slice of Cherry" by Dia Reeves - it follows these two fifteen year old sisters who kill some people over the summer. It's super good. And I referenced the movie "Lucy" for shits and giggles.)  
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